Archive | Brown Shoes RSS feed for this section

the study of leather sandals with wood platform heels

16 Aug

Bebe strappy leather sandals with chunky wooden platform and a staggering 6-inch heel. Surprisingly, these aren’t all that tricky to walk in, and are remarkably comfortable. Seriously. The platform makes the heel not quite so severe, and I can’t tell you how tall and important I feel when rocking a six-inch heel. Goodness, I love these shoes!

I love how this is a fairly classic outfit until you get to my ankles, and then it’s sass and spunk all the way. I kind of wish I’d worn this with a hot pink belt instead of the brown one, but I suppose that just means I’ll have to wear it again.

The Details

Blue and white polka-dot blouse: Banana Republic
White tank: Old Navy
Brown pencil skirt: TJ Maxx
Brown belt: Forever 21 (I think)
Shoes: Bebe
Pink bangles and ring: Claire’s
Silver bracelet: Tiffany

**This post is part of Kayla‘s 21 Day Challenge. Day 2: Tuck it in. Check out the rest of the participants in the Flickr group here.

the study of chocolate brown t-strap espadrilles (repeat!)

26 May

Chocolate brown snakeskin t-strap espadrilles from Banana Republic…the exact same ones I wore last week.  Whatever, I love them and it’s not freezing or rainy or miserable, so espadrilles must be worn.  Truth be told, when I left the house this morning I was wearing boots, but one look at the slice of blue sky that was so lovely, I marched myself back upstairs and grabbed the first pair of shoes with peep-toes.

This dress started it’s life as a mid-calf, homemade pioneer dress from the thrift store.  I chopped off the hem (although I think I need to take it up another inch or two), took the sides in several inches, and made the sleeves a little less puffy.  I loved the summery plaid and the pockets–pockets!!–so any and all adjustments were totally worth it.

The Details
Dress: thrifted and refashioned by me
Cardigan: Old Navy
Belt: Forever 21
Necklaces: Horseshoe Necklace (no clue where this one came from), Mayan calendar necklace (Mazatlan, Mexico)
Earrings: Claire’s
Turquoise Ring: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Espadrille Wedges: Banana Republic

the study of snake-skin printed T-strap espadrilles

17 May

Chocolate brown snake-skin stamped leather T-strap espadrilles, from Banana Republic

These pics are from over the weekend, something a little casual and blessedly summery.  (A weather trend that has not continued throughout the week, sigh.)  I found this shirt at a SLC boutique and absolutely love it, the stripey knit is soft and the poofy sleeves are divine and I just cannot get over the bow applique on the front.

You may not be able to tell from this photo–or, really, any of them–but these are my best attempt at wide-leg jeans.  Mind you, I’ve had these for a few years, and now they are trendy again!

Banana Republic wedges
All-Star wide(ish) leg jeans, from Buckle
Navy and white stripey top with bow applique, from a boutique
Pile of silver and turquoise bangles, same as yesterday
Turquoise ring, from Mazatlan, Mexico

the study of flat leather boots

12 May


Round toe, flat, leather riding boots with studded detail at ankle, from Bohme.

It’s a typical Rocky Mountain Spring around these parts, we go from 70 degrees to snow and then back again in the same week and this cycle hasn’t stopped since March.  I predict that it will probably snow once or twice more before we hit triple-digit temperatures.  The last few days have been rainy, gray, and downright freezy–on Monday we hit a new record for lowest recorded temperature in 80 years!  I don’t mind the chill, and I certainly don’t mind that it is summer temperatures elsewhere because the combination of those two factors means that I found and purchased these boots for $20 dollars over the weekend, and can still get a wear or two out of them before summer hits!  Win-win!

Blue linen dress with smocked top, puffy sleeves, and cut-outs at the hem.  Paired with a fresh tank and well-loved denim blazer this sundress becomes office appropriate.  I love that the boots and thrifted belt compliment each other so well.

For the most part, I wear the same jewelry day in and day out: a Tiffany bracelet and a pair of diamond earrings.  However, lately I have tried branching out a bit to incorporate some fun jewelry, different colors, statement pieces, etc.  These bangles were purchased together–I’m not skilled enough to mix them myself yet, baby steps here–and I fell in-love with the cocktail ring the moment I saw it.

Boots: Bohme
Dress: Max Studio, Nordstrom Rack (shop similar dress)
Tank: B.P., Nordstrom
Nude Fishnets: Department store
Denim Blazer: Express (purchased 8 years ago)
Belt: Thrifted
Bangles: Bohme
Ring: Ann Taylor Loft

Ok, so I realize this has previously been only footwear, and while I still will include my shoes in every single post, I will also include outfits, accessories, and probably a story or two from my life as well.  We’ll see how it goes, wish me luck!

the study of brown zippered pumps

3 Feb

Soft brown leather pumps with almond-toe, 4-inch heel, and gold zipper details, by Liliana.  I found these last week and had to have them, I was so delighted when they were delivered less than 24-hours after I ordered them, thank you, free overnight shipping!  And thank you, Endless!  I just love the zipper detail, so funky and unexpected!

Liliana Escada Zipper Pump

They also come in red!

Can I gush a little bit about this photo?  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this here before, but I don’t take most of the photos that are posted here.  I take a few, like, maybe 5%.  I am tricky, but the kind of contortion required for the shot above while still paying attention to light balance and composition are beyond my scope as a overly amateur photographer.  Also, my little point-and-shoot camera just doesn’t have the skills for that sort of thing in the first place.  No, I don’t take my own photos.  My sister, pinksuedeshoe, comes to visit me every couple of weeks with her big, bad SLR and a head full of creative ideas, and she will take photos of 25 or 30 pairs of shoes.  She’ll edit them up real nice and upload them for me to peruse and subsequently post here.  It’s kind of like that scene in Clueless where Cher has her entire closet loaded into her computer and can scroll through it.  That’s what I do in the morning (or the night before if I’m feeling productive).  I scroll through, find a pair of shoes I want to wear, and then dream up an outfit to go with them.

Up until recently we have been doing these photo shoots outside, ignoring the strange looks from my neighbors as I schlep an enormous bag of shoes around the block, looking for the right spot.  But this last Saturday we decided to set up a mini studio in my warm, cozy apartment and see how that would work.  Come to find, the photos take about 10 times longer to get right when you’re working with sunshine coming through the skylight and setting up different backdrops.  The good news is we both really love how they turned out (see above).  Thanks a million, Pink!

the study of gold metallic peep-toe platform sandals

1 Feb

Gold metallic snakeskin peep-toe, platform sandals with ankle strap and 5-inch heel, by ShoeDazzle.  Are these particularly “winter weather” appropriate?  Mmm, no, not really.  Have I ever been one for “practical” or “appropriate?”  Mmm, no, not really.

Ok, so let’s chat a minute about ShoeDazzle, they are a subscription shoe dealer, which sounds a lot fancier than it really is.  Basically, you get a new pair of shoes every month for a pretty low price, I’m on month two and have already purchased extra pairs.  And not all of the shoes have 5-inch heels, I promise.  You actually take a little “shoe preference” quiz and they give you a selection based on that.  If you don’t like any of them you can request new ones.  It’s a pretty sweet gig.  And, of course, I get referral points if you use this link to join.  So head over there, check it out, report back to me, okay?  Okay.  Happy Tuesday.

the study of chocolate brown satin strappy sandals

25 Jan

Chocolatey brown satin strappy sandal with 3-inch heel, from B.P.  The last few days it has felt like spring here, it even smells like spring!  In fact, my allergies kicked in last week due to a prolonged thaw!  Don’t worry, I’m sure it will plummet into sub-zero temperatures and a couple more feet of snow will fall in my valley before too long.  But for now I am enjoying the toe-baring weather!

Here are a few sassy pairs of satin heels to tide you over until summer (or, if you happen to live somewhere where it’s always 70-degrees and sunny, you can wear them now)(it has not been 70 here, more like 50)(excuse the excessive parentheticals), or if you need to dress up for a fabulous party or swanky event or an otherwise uneventful Tuesday.

Calvin Klein Rudie T-Strap Sandal

BCBGeneration Erica Pump

Ok, I know these next two aren’t strappy or summery or anything–but there is snow in the forecast and these ankle booties just seem so cozy and snuggly!

Kenneth Cole REACTION How Chicky Ankle Boot

Liliana Carrie Open-Toe Ankle Boot

the study of vintage, chocolate suede pumps

18 Jan

Chocolate brown suede vintagey pumps with slight pointed-toe, 2.5-inch heel, and bow detail.  These are one of the very few pairs of shoes I own that came from a thrift store, I absolutely love them.  They are so feminine and sweet and perfectly shaped.

the study of brown tweed peep toe heels

6 Dec

Chocolate brown faux-croc leather, brown tweed, and camel suede peep-toe 4-inch pumps by Amanda Smith. I love these shoes; I love them so much, in fact, that I have them in three different colors; brown, black and red.  I’ve had all three of these shoes for several years now and I find that they will go with absolutely everything.  Jeans, casual skirts, dressier outfits, suits, whatever.

Toe Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail Polish, Floral Taffeta

Make sure to enter my giveaway for a FREE pair of Muckboots!  Contest is open until December 15, 2010.

the study of daydreaming about new leather knee-high boots

2 Dec

OLSTER COGNAC LE

Today has been insane.  Like, crazy insane.  I have an enormous meeting with some of the most prestigious people in my industry (I am not participating in this meeting, I’m just in charge of making sure it runs smoothly, thank heavens). I woke up late, had a bit of a wardrobe crisis, ran out the door without my camera to document my shoes for the day, and am now running behind in every possible aspect of the day. So what have I been doing? Every hour I take a 3 minute mini-break to look at something beautiful online to calm my insides. I have been craving a pair of flat boots and I think this Olster Cognac Boot fits the bill.

Dear Santa,

Please remember how good I’ve been this year. I’m a size 10.

Love, heidi

Make sure you enter to win a FREE PAIR OF MUCKBOOTS, contest is open until Dec. 15, 2010.

Come back tomorrow for a gift guide on the most fantastic footwear for the shoe-lover in your life.  (If it’s you that’s totally okay, I’m the only person I like enough right now to buy shoes for anyway.)